AEW President Tony Khan reflected on the legacy of WCW Monday Nitro and its lasting impact on the wrestling world during a recent interview with Sports Illustrated. His comments came ahead of tonight’s AEW Dynamite: Spring BreakThru, which marks the 289th episode of the flagship show, surpassing WCW Nitro's 288-episode run.

Khan described Nitro as an essential part of his upbringing and credited the show with helping to shape modern wrestling.

“I’m a big fan, and I grew up watching the shows, and Nitro was a huge part of my childhood,” Khan said. “And long before Nitro, I watched WCW. And I wish I could say I watched it long after, but that was kind of the end of the run. And I certainly learned a lot watching those shows.”

He praised the platform WCW gave to some of the sport’s most gifted performers, noting that the show helped launch the careers of many who would go on to become icons.

“I think it’s where some of the most exciting, high flying, athletic wrestlers of all time broke in and broke in on TV and became mainstream TV stars across America. And those are some of the biggest wrestlers of all time now,” Khan said. “And I think it really helped usher in a faster-paced, more exciting style of wrestling. And I do think that over the years of Nitro, some of the most exciting moments and memories in pro wrestling happened on the show. So, tons of positive memories of WCW Nitro from growing up.”

Khan emphasized the effort it took to keep a show like Nitro running for such a long period and acknowledged how difficult it is to maintain that level of consistency.

“I really, really, absolutely had so much respect for everything that it took to put Nitro on the air and keep Nitro on the air for all those years,” he said. “And that’s why I think this is a really important milestone. It’s amazing what Nitro achieved. And to be on TNT for 288 weeks, I know how hard that is firsthand, it’s really hard.”

He added that tonight’s episode of Dynamite would not only mark a significant milestone for AEW but would also serve as a tribute to decades of professional wrestling on Turner networks.

“It’s a celebration of everything, and really all the wrestling,” Khan said. “Looking back, over fifty years of wrestling on TBS specifically, and 30 years of pro wrestling on TNT, and now AEW is a huge part of that conversation. And this is a big milestone for TBS and AEW on Wednesday.”

"I really, really, absolutely had so much respect for everything that it took to put Nitro on the air and keep Nitro on the air for all those years."https://t.co/YFIFrXf3ft

, SI Wrestling (@SI_wrestling) April 16, 2025